Time to catch up. Snowflake addition.

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. To be honest, and it's been a long time coming, I have been pondering how much longer I want to keep this site going.

All kinds of thoughts have been rolling around in my head, and oddly, or maybe not so oddly, I have given this site very little thought over the last couple of months.

Everything has a shelf life, and apparently so does this. Am I really ready to give it up though? There is the million dollar question.

You see, I have been participating in discussions on other sites that don't use Disqus, and quite frankly, there is the rub, this era of Trump as ruined about any discussion board out there. You could post a thread about Mom's apple pie and somehow Trump will be mentioned.

When I first started this forum it was mostly to get into the politics of the day. Quickly I learned politics can not be discussed in rational tones and I had to start banning people, even some Leftists. 

Gradually, we became more "drop in and let's just keep it light" type of forum. I started to add more authors. It became not only light but "conversational." Until it didn't.

To have a conversation we would need to spend time "conversing", going back n forth with each other. Some of us have done that. Others drop in to drop a comment or two then move on. It got flat in here.

Authors struggled to come up with topics, and our regulars struggled to get enthused about the topics being posted. Nature of the beast. The shiny new toy wasn't so shiny any more. 

Looking over the last few threads posted by my other authors was particularly discouraging. One only garnered 9 comments. Some only had 10 or 15 comments made. Others were 22 comments or 31 comments long. That's it. I am surprised the authors of those threads didn't get discouraged and just give up.

NOW, don't get me wrong: A place like this is for those who want to enjoy it and there should never be an obligation to participate on a thread that doesn't interest you. That would defeat the point of a forum like this one. 

And maybe the blame lies with me. Maybe my rules are too strict, leaving less room for more hyperbolic back n forths. Maybe my participation level had dropped off too much as well (before I took my break). 

Also the format is kind of restrictive. Have to add you as an author. Have to compose the thread on Blogger. I did think of moving over to a different format where ANYONE can author a thread and there are topics to pick from.

Anyone curious can look at it:  https://snowflakesplace.boards.net/

But previous attempts did not get a lot of reaction as people are more comfortable with the familiar and loathe to get used to a different format. 

I am not technically proficient, and Kat set this forum up for me. She also has her own...

https://disqus.com/home/forum/countrykat/

 And it has slowly been losing regulars, but she keeps it going for the few that drop in.

At least Germaine has a mission on his forum. But judging from the comment history of his forum, even his is getting less attended. Plus I can only read so much about the threat to democracy and how awful Trump is before my eyes start to go cross.

Mine, this forum, doesn't have a mission. Other than a place to drop in and spend a few minute conversing with each other. But even that has dwindled, where I seldom see regulars any more that used to be very regular.

Now I am reading that milo has disappeared. He would not be the first. Years back Kat and I had a friend that one day just didn't show up any more. She was elderly. We worried about the worst. I worry, for that reason about milo. A few others on here have mentioned they are getting older and having health issues. There isn't really a way of saying good bye when when the time comes for you to leave us. 

So where do we go from here? My summer is going to be so hectic I doubt I will have much time to be on here. I would like to return to some regular participation though, but time might be tight. A planned road trip that will likely take up 5 to 6 weeks is on the calendar. Apartment hunting as well as Geri and I are not happy with the place we found a few years back and thought was the perfect place for us. 

For now, unless Disqus pulls a fast one and closes down free forums like this one, there is no cost to me in keeping it running. I will try to be here more. I hope we can get back to just being here to chat with each other. But if not, it is what it is. Only a few of my authors bother to post threads any more. To the few that do, I would understand if you got discouraged by the lack of responses. 

I am still willing to add more authors if anyone is interested. I will also entertain any ideas anyone has of how to improve this forum. But in the end, I have no idea how much longer this place will be able to keep going. Some would say to me if even just a dozen regulars remain keep it going for them. Makes sense. Maybe a smaller group will be a tighter group. 

I am truly sorry that my passion as waned. So I blame NO one for losing their passion. For now, this place is here for those who want to keep using it. With my busy summer, I will not be regular and will judge in the fall how much time I still want to devote to this forum.

Your friend: Snowflake 

PS: I am the lone mod on here and I will still be hovering. So behave yourselves.